S. Samuel
Former Grand Hustle associate Cedric "Alfamega" Zellars has broken his silence on his departure from T.I.'s camp and weighed in on his alleged cooperation with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Confirming he is no longer supported by Tip, Alfamega promised he has never betrayed any people in order to reduce a past prison sentence.
“I caught a case, pleaded guilty,” Alfa said about his 1990’s arrest. “Received my time. I was doing my time. All the extra stuff dudes’ talking about…Anybody that know me, if I had did something on somebody in this city, and people knew that I was accused of doing what they accusing me of right now? Somebody woulda been stepped to me about that. Like I said, Alfamega ain’t never snitched on nobody. He done lied on somebody, but he ain’t never snitched. And we ain’t even gotta say Alfamega, ’cause y’all got my name out there now: Cedric Zellers…You do 85 percent of your time in the Feds. I really wasn’t supposed to do the whole sentence, but I got into an altercation in the last prison I was in. So they took some good time away. They gave me 60 extra days…I’m older than Tip. I’m from the Westside, he from the Westside. Where I come from, if you have a label of being a snitch, you gon’ get dealt with. So how am I able to still walk around the city by myself? So, it is what it is, you know. I’m gonna make a statement too: I don’t hate Tip. I’m disappointed, ’cause that’s supposed to be my partner. And I ain’t talking about on no business tip. That’s my partner. I rode for dude, like 24/7. I put my family to the side sometimes to ride for dude.” (All Hip Hop)
T.I. read a statement last month announcing Alfa’s departure from Grand Hustle.
“Even though all of our artists and employees are asked by us to be honest and open about their past history at no time did Alfa disclose to me or Grand Hustle what has now appeared in the media. He essentially deceived us by failing to fully disclose the truth about his past and there is no place in our organization for dishonest and misleading behavior. As I’ve always said, you must take responsibility for your own actions, we at Grand Hustle do not support or condone blaming others for our own mistakes. I hope and pray to god bless his financial plans but I do not foresee me or my company playing the role of his personal or professional business.” (File Factory)
Grand Hustle’s DJ Drama also spoke on the rapper’s tainted image.
“I spoke to Tip about it and Tip is definitely preparing to speak to the media about the situation,” Drama explained in an interview. “And as boss man, I would definitely honor him to make a statement before I make a statement, but there’s definitely a consensus among [Grand Hustle]…When you put yourself as a public figure and you put yourself out there to represent one thing and it comes out that you represent the opposite, the public has the right to be aware of that…We all know hip-hop is about being true to yourself and being true to your name. Ice Cube said it a long time ago — it’s about being real with yourself whoever you may be.” (XXL Mag)
Records leaked online last month which showed Alfa worked as a DEA informant.
Court records show that Zellars began working with law enforcement officials after he was sentenced in September 1995 to 110 months in a federal gun case (Zellars, who had a prior felony robbery conviction, was collared for selling weapons to an undercover federal agent). Zellars “agreed to cooperate with authorities and was debriefed” about the criminal activity of several individuals. “In particular he was debriefed concerning the drug trafficking activities of a Mr. Ali Baaqar,” according to a government court filing. During his cooperation against Baaqar, Zellars met with a DEA agent and a federal prosecutor, and subsequently testified at trial. “Ali Baaqar was convicted of conspiracy to distribute heroin based upon the trial testimony of [Zellars] and others.” In return for his snitching, Zellars had 18 months shaved off his prison term when he was resentenced in July 1997 by Judge J. Owen Forrester. (The Smoking Gun)
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